Australian Themed Books For Kids

1. Possum Magic By Mem Fox



2. Wombat Divine By Mem Fox



3. Koala Lou By Mem Fox



4. Never Smile at a Crocodile By Jack Lawrence


5. The Wheels on the Ute Go Round and Round By Loraine Harrison



6. Possum Tale By Lucienne Noontil



7. Out in the Bush By Yvonne Morrison



8. Baby Wombat's Week By Jackie French



9. Blossom Possum: The Sky is Falling Down-Under By Gina Newton



10. Possum and Wattle By Bronwyn Bancroft



11. Diary of a Wombat By Jackie French



12. Edward the Emu By Sheena Knowles



13. Australia ABCs: A Book About the People and Places of Australia (Country Abcs)By Sarah Heiman



14. The Biggest Frog in Australia by Susan L. Roth



15. Hunwick's Egg by Mem Fox



16. Ernie Dances to the Didgeridoo by Alison Lester



17. The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest By Lynne Cherry



18. Tiddalick: The Frog Who Caused a Flood By Robert Roennfeldt



19. A Year on Our Farm By Penny Matthews & Andrew Mclean



20. The Cocky Who Cried Dingo By Yvonne Morrison & Heath Makenzie



21. Australia At The beach By Max Fatchen & Tom Jellett



22. Goldilocks and the Three Koalas By Kel Richards



23. How the Birds got their Colours story told by Mary Albert of the Bardi People to Aboriginal children living in Broome, Western Australia.



24. Echidna and the Shade Tree story is compiled by Pamela Lofts based on a telling by Mona Green of the Jaru people to students in Halls Creek, Western Australia


25. How the Kangaroo Got Tails story told by George Mung Mung Lirrmiyarri, of the Kija people, to Aboriginal children living in Warmun (Turkey Creek), Western Australia.


26. Magic Boomerang by Frane Lessac and Mark Greenwood


27. W is for Wombat My First Australian Word Book by Bronwyn Bancroft


28. A Home for Bilby By Joanned Crawford


29. Anzac Day Parade By Glenda Kane


30. Josephine Wants to Dance By Jackie French


31. Imagine By Alison Lester


32. I Love It When You Smile by Sam Mcbratney


33. And Kangaroo Played His Didgeridoo By Nigel Gray


34. Father Koala's Nursery Rhymes By Kel Richards


35. One Woolly Wombat By Kerry Argent


36. Santa Koala By Colin Buchanan


37. Snug as a Hug: An Australian Lullaby By Marcia Vaughan


38. The Bush Concert By Helga Visser


39. There was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Mozzie By P Crumble


40. Wombat Stew By Marcia Vaughan


41. Roos in Shoes by Tom Keneally


42. The Golden Kangaroo by Garrison Valentine


43. Sailaway. The Ballad of Skip & Nell by Mem Fox


44. Are We There yet? by Alison Lester


45. Alexander’s Outing by Pamela Allen


46. Emily and The Big Bad Bunyip by Jackie French


47. Where the Forest meets the Sea By Jeannie Baker


48. Sebastian lives in a Hat By Thelma Catterwell


49. Magic Beach By Alison Lester


50. Greetings from Sandy Beach By Bob Graham

The Echidna and the Shade Tree

The boy's had lots of fun making Echidna's with playdough and craft match sticks. Playdough is always a great opportunity to develop fine motor skills.

I love giving the boy's different tools to paint with, so painting spikes on an Echidna seemed the perfect opportunity to use cotton buds. Master 4 drew himself an Echidna after reading the story and then used a cotton tip to create spikes. I didn't have any brown paint so we used some of my foundation!! I'm all about using whatever you can around the house for craft activities!!

The Echidna is a strange and fascinating animal that calls Australia home. The Echidna is a rare mammal that lays eggs, and it resembles a porcupine with large, pointy spines protruding from their backs. My boy's really enjoyed creating their own Echidnas after reading The Echidna and The Shade Tree.

The first exposure I had to Aboriginal picture books was through the series of books compiled by Pamela Lofts. I remember these from when I was at primary school. Published in 1980, even then I could tell that these books were pretty revolutionary: simply told traditional Aboriginal stories illustrated and told by Aboriginal people. I think they still work beautifully today, and I’ve hunted down some copies for my boys: How The Birds Got Their Colours by May Albert and Pamela Lofts and The Echidna and the Shade Tree by Mona Green and Pamela Lofts.

Edward The Emu

I like the days leading up to celebrating Australia Day as it is the perfect opportunity to read some great books about Australian animals. Two of our favourite books are, Edward the Emu and Edwina the Emu both written by Sheena Knowles & Rod Clement.

Tired of being just an Emu, Edward decides to try being like other animals at the zoo. He wants to be noticed and in his quest for attention, Edward imitates many other animals. He soon discovers that being himself is the best animal of all. This book allows for lots of fun learning that you can do with your little one.

• Discuss the animals’ enclosures as
  Edward visits them all.


• What shapes can you find in the book?
  Circles for eyes, diamond teeth. Draw the
  shapes. How many objects in your
  classroom are also these shapes?


• Symmetry: Look at the patterns on the
  snake’s skin


• Make some snakes with play dough, great for fine motor skills.


• How many animals were involved in this quest of Edward’s?
  Talk about: ‘next morning’, ‘today’, ‘that night’. Also talk about the times used in the book
  e.g. ‘morning at nine’


• Edward is a unique creature to look at. Facts like emus can’t fly, they have very
  strong legs, make funny grunting noises and can run very fast.

What's the perfect job for an emu? The wonderful sequel to Edward the Emu is Edwina the Emu. Now, we all know what happened after Edward met his mate Edwina, little emus of course! But with a completely modern challenge for their mother, hilarity is bound to happen as Edwina goes job searching while Edward stays on the nest.

Make this super cute emu using a paper plate, pipe cleaners and bits of any brown paper or material that you have in your craft box!